Squarespace vs Umbraco

Thinking of swapping Squarespace for the open-source Umbraco? Here’s the honest trade-off.

5.2k .NET MIT today

What you give up vs Squarespace

  • Requires .NET hosting environment, which is less common and often more expensive than PHP/Node stacks
  • The Marketplace for packages is smaller than WordPress's plugin ecosystem
  • Headless Delivery API is relatively new and lacks the maturity of dedicated headless platforms
  • Commercial packages (e.g., Forms, Deploy) are required for some common workflows and add cost

What you gain

  • • Full data ownership — self-host Umbraco on your own infrastructure.
  • • No per-seat SaaS bill (Squarespace: monthly fees and a closed platform).
  • • Open-source code you can audit and extend (MIT).